A few years ago, I read a book called “Kiss your dentist goodbye,” by Ellie Phillips, DDS. I thought it strange that a dentist would write a book like this, unless it was about dentists who commit suicide. But it turned out that Phillips, who has practiced dentistry for over 35 years, describes in the book her system for preventing tooth and gum problems, as well as reducing dental bills to practically nothing. Although she no longer actively practices dentistry, Dr.Phillips does engage in what she calls “preventive dentistry,” which involves the prevention of dental problems. Her program was developed through trial and error involving patient responses over a 30-year period. Since I had a tendency toward developing gum problems (I’ve had two gum transplant procedures), I was especially interested in what Phillips proposed, since she claimed that her program would prevent gum and common teeth problems.
She called her program,”The complete mouth care system,” since it not only covers teeth and gums, but also other problems, such as dry mouth. Using her 4-step program also prevents halitosis, or bad breath, which is epidemic today mainly related to periodontitis, or gum inflammation. Like it or not, people that you meet tend to judge you by the appearance of your teeth, and teeth that look stained, or missing teeth, detract greatly from your appearance. This could lead to a rejection even before another person gets the chance to know the real you. You will never hear your dentist tell you about Phillips’ program for obvious reasons: it’s not in his or her best interests to reduce tooth and gum problems. The title of Phillip’s book, Kiss your dentist goodbye,” is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. Her program will indeed minimize dental visits and reduce or eliminate costly dental procedures if followed precisely.
Before I explain exactly how Dr.Phillip’s program works, you should know the science behind it. Phillips program is based on the elimination of nearly all pathogenic oral bacteria. Such bacteria produce acids that erode teeth enamel, and are also largely responsible for conditions such as gum recession that leads to lost teeth. The combination of dry mouth and increased oral acidity is the root cause of most dental problems, so Phillip’s program focuses on maintaining an oral pH that is more alkaline. Anything below a pH of 7 is considered acidic; above 7, is in the alkaline range. Teeth surfaces start to get damaged when pH drops to 6.5, and the teeth erode at a pH of 5.5 or less.
So what are the specifics of Dr.Phillip’s Complete Mouth Care System? It involves the use of three over-the-counter products that aren’t expensive, and a type of sugar called Xylitol. Xylitol is classified as a sugar alcohol, but contains 40% less calories than sucrose or table sugar. But it has some interesting properties in relation to tooth and gum protection that don’t exist in other sugars. While most sugars are converted into acidic compounds by oral bacteria, xylitol cannot be metabolized by the oral bacteria that are associated with tooth and gum disease. Not only that, but consuming xylitol rapidly converts the oral environment from acidic to alkaline. Various studies show that consuming 2 teaspoons a day of xylitol or 6-10 grams for 5 weeks will gradually reduce oral pathogenic bacteria. After 6 months of regular ingestion of xylitol, 95% of pathogenic bacteria will be gone. The oral bacteria that cause tooth and gum disease cannot metabolize xylitol like they can with other sugars. As a result, they die off with regular ingestion of xylitol. When that happens, dental problems disappear. The proper dose of xylitol for dental preventive purposes is 6 to 10 grams a day. Consuming more than this amount won’t improve or speed the results, but could lead to side affects. Similarly to other sugar alcohols, large doses of xylitol will cause gastrointestinal distress, including explosive diarrhea. I assume that I don’t have to explain what that is. But it won’t happen if you stay within the suggested range of xylitol intake of 6-10 grams a day. With a glycemic index number of only 7, xylitol is not likely to cause an excess of insulin release. How you ingest the xylitol is up to you. Phillips sells a line of xylitol-based candies and gum. Or you could purchase similar items elsewhere. I prefer to use straight xylitol powder, which looks and tastes exactly like ordinary table sugar. I take it after meals, and whenever I consume a drink that has acidic properties, such as orange juice or diet soda. Ingesting the xylitol at that time immediately switches the mouth environment from acidic to alkaline. It’s the perception of the sweetness of xylitol that produces an immediate release of saliva, which both reduces dry mouth (and bad breath), as well as raises the alkalinity level of the mouth. I even add a teaspoon of xylitol to my whey protein drinks, in which it improves the taste through adding a bit of sweetness. According to Phillips, consuming 6 to 10 grams a day of xylitol is 50% of the potential success of her program. Another plus about xylitol is that with continued use, it promotes mineral deposition into teeth, which makes the teeth look whiter naturally after a while. Xylitol does this through promoting the entry of calcium into the teeth. If you have a dog, ensure that the dog cannot get to the xylitol, since it can produce a toxic hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, in dogs who ingest it. You want that in oral bacteria, but not in your dog. Phillips is against the use of whitening tooth pastes, or any type of teeth whitening system, which she says damages the teeth and erodes the natural “biofilm” on the surface of teeth that helps to protect them and make them look healthy. Ditto for baking soda, which she says also is not good for teeth.
The actual physical portion of Phillip’s Complete Mouth Care System is pictured above. You start by rinsing your mouth with a product called cloSYS. This is a special mouthwash that contains stabilized chlorine dioxide as the active ingredient. You rinse your mouth using 2 capfuls of cloSYS. It raises the alkaline level of your teeth, and prepares them for the rest of the program. This mouthwash has a neutral taste, but it effectively wipes out 99% of oral bacteria linked to tooth and gum problems. It is also marvelously effective at eliminating the smelly sulfur compounds that build up in the back of the mouth causing bad breath, or halitosis. It will also loosen any food particles in the mouth.
The next step is the brush your teeth using a medium-soft toothbrush. But it’s vital to use the correct toothpaste, which is Crest original anti-cavity toothpaste. Avoid other toothpastes that contain whiteners, tartar control additives, stannous fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate. or triclosan, all of which Phillips says are harmful to teeth because of their negative effect on the invisible but protective biofilm on the surface of teeth. She says that you should rinse the toothbrush with Listerine after brushing, and store it away from the bathroom toilet, since bacteria travel in the air when the toilet is flushed. I’m a bit skeptical about this advice, especially when you consider that the next step of the program involves rinsing the mouth with Listerine, which destroys oral bacteria on contact. When I pointed this out to Phillips, she didn’t have a response. When you brush, ensure that you reach all tooth surfaces, including the back of the teeth. Don’t press too hard with the brush. This was a mistake I made for years, and led to gum recession for me. These days, I prefer to use an electrical tooth brush, which makes my mouth feel much cleaner than using a manual brush, and also is about twice as effective at reducing dental plaque.
Step three involves rinsing your mouth with Listerine, the popular mouthwash. Once again, stick with basic Listerine, not the plaque-removing formula or the whitening version. Make sure it has an “ADA seal of approval” on the bottle. It’s also important that you not rinse your mouth with water between these steps. The Crest toothpaste forms a film on your teeth that protects them from the harsh effects of Listerine. So no rinsing between any of these steps. Phillips says to stick with genuine Listerine, but I use some cheaper house brands that contain the precise same active ingredients as Listerine, but cost half the price or less. Just ensure that these cheaper brands have the ADA seal of approval on the bottle, and it will work fine. You swish the Listerine or a cheaper substitute around in your mouth for about one minute. Phillips called this “liquid flossing” since it loosens food debris between the teeth. She is not keen on flossing, which goes against the advice of just about every dentist that I’ve ever spoken with. But Phillips feels that flossing is too hard on the gums, and can result in gum recession. Despite her admonition against flossing, I still floss right after rinsing with the cloSYS, just prior to brushing with Crest.
The last step is to rinse with a produce called ACT mouthwash.This is a fluoride mouthwash that Phillips says helps to push minerals into the teeth, which makes them stronger and look better. Again, stick with basic ACT, not the versions that contain whiteners or the ACT Restore version. You’ll know you have the correct version if it says “anti-cavity” on the bottle. It comes in mint or cinnamon flavors. Again, there are cheaper versions sold as house brands that average half the price of genuine ACT. Make sure that these cheaper versions have the ADA seal of approval on the bottle, and contain 0.05% sodium fluoride. This is a tiny amount of fluoride, and you aren’t going to swallow it anyway, just swish it in your mouth for about one minute, then spit it out.
It’s best to use this program twice a day, but you should aim to ingest small amounts of the xylitol about 3-5 times a day, or after every meal or acidic drink, including coffee. You want to do the 4- 1/2- minute program right before sleep, since the mouth tends to dry out at night, especially if you sleep with your mouth open. This, by the way, is the cause of the infamous”morning mouth” bad breath. You want to use the system twice a day, because the bad oral bacteria begin to build-up again after about 12 hours.
The only drawback to this system that I can think of is that oral bacteria are required to activate the initial conversion of nitrates from vegetables, such as beets, into nitrates, which is eventually converted in the gut into nitric oxide or NO. NO is a beneficial substance for those engaged in exercise, since it promotes greater blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles, while reducing fatigue during intense training. It is actually more effective at boosting NO than high priced “NO” food supplements. But if you wipe out the oral bacteria, as this system does, you won’t get any benefits from eating vegetables rich in nitrates. So the choice comes down to: either improved NO status or keeping your teeth and not having bad breath. As for me, I’ll get my NO from other sources, thank you! Remember,always be true to your teeth, or they will be false to you.
This is a sample article from the Applied Metabolics Newsletter at Applied Metabolics.com
She called her program,”The complete mouth care system,” since it not only covers teeth and gums, but also other problems, such as dry mouth. Using her 4-step program also prevents halitosis, or bad breath, which is epidemic today mainly related to periodontitis, or gum inflammation. Like it or not, people that you meet tend to judge you by the appearance of your teeth, and teeth that look stained, or missing teeth, detract greatly from your appearance. This could lead to a rejection even before another person gets the chance to know the real you. You will never hear your dentist tell you about Phillips’ program for obvious reasons: it’s not in his or her best interests to reduce tooth and gum problems. The title of Phillip’s book, Kiss your dentist goodbye,” is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. Her program will indeed minimize dental visits and reduce or eliminate costly dental procedures if followed precisely.
Her program will indeed minimize dental visits and reduce or eliminate costly dental procedures if followed precisely.
So what are the specifics of Dr.Phillip’s Complete Mouth Care System? It involves the use of three over-the-counter products that aren’t expensive, and a type of sugar called Xylitol. Xylitol is classified as a sugar alcohol, but contains 40% less calories than sucrose or table sugar. But it has some interesting properties in relation to tooth and gum protection that don’t exist in other sugars. While most sugars are converted into acidic compounds by oral bacteria, xylitol cannot be metabolized by the oral bacteria that are associated with tooth and gum disease. Not only that, but consuming xylitol rapidly converts the oral environment from acidic to alkaline. Various studies show that consuming 2 teaspoons a day of xylitol or 6-10 grams for 5 weeks will gradually reduce oral pathogenic bacteria. After 6 months of regular ingestion of xylitol, 95% of pathogenic bacteria will be gone. The oral bacteria that cause tooth and gum disease cannot metabolize xylitol like they can with other sugars. As a result, they die off with regular ingestion of xylitol. When that happens, dental problems disappear. The proper dose of xylitol for dental preventive purposes is 6 to 10 grams a day. Consuming more than this amount won’t improve or speed the results, but could lead to side affects. Similarly to other sugar alcohols, large doses of xylitol will cause gastrointestinal distress, including explosive diarrhea. I assume that I don’t have to explain what that is. But it won’t happen if you stay within the suggested range of xylitol intake of 6-10 grams a day. With a glycemic index number of only 7, xylitol is not likely to cause an excess of insulin release. How you ingest the xylitol is up to you. Phillips sells a line of xylitol-based candies and gum. Or you could purchase similar items elsewhere. I prefer to use straight xylitol powder, which looks and tastes exactly like ordinary table sugar. I take it after meals, and whenever I consume a drink that has acidic properties, such as orange juice or diet soda. Ingesting the xylitol at that time immediately switches the mouth environment from acidic to alkaline. It’s the perception of the sweetness of xylitol that produces an immediate release of saliva, which both reduces dry mouth (and bad breath), as well as raises the alkalinity level of the mouth. I even add a teaspoon of xylitol to my whey protein drinks, in which it improves the taste through adding a bit of sweetness. According to Phillips, consuming 6 to 10 grams a day of xylitol is 50% of the potential success of her program. Another plus about xylitol is that with continued use, it promotes mineral deposition into teeth, which makes the teeth look whiter naturally after a while. Xylitol does this through promoting the entry of calcium into the teeth. If you have a dog, ensure that the dog cannot get to the xylitol, since it can produce a toxic hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, in dogs who ingest it. You want that in oral bacteria, but not in your dog. Phillips is against the use of whitening tooth pastes, or any type of teeth whitening system, which she says damages the teeth and erodes the natural “biofilm” on the surface of teeth that helps to protect them and make them look healthy. Ditto for baking soda, which she says also is not good for teeth.
The actual physical portion of Phillip’s Complete Mouth Care System is pictured above. You start by rinsing your mouth with a product called cloSYS. This is a special mouthwash that contains stabilized chlorine dioxide as the active ingredient. You rinse your mouth using 2 capfuls of cloSYS. It raises the alkaline level of your teeth, and prepares them for the rest of the program. This mouthwash has a neutral taste, but it effectively wipes out 99% of oral bacteria linked to tooth and gum problems. It is also marvelously effective at eliminating the smelly sulfur compounds that build up in the back of the mouth causing bad breath, or halitosis. It will also loosen any food particles in the mouth.
The next step is the brush your teeth using a medium-soft toothbrush. But it’s vital to use the correct toothpaste, which is Crest original anti-cavity toothpaste. Avoid other toothpastes that contain whiteners, tartar control additives, stannous fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate. or triclosan, all of which Phillips says are harmful to teeth because of their negative effect on the invisible but protective biofilm on the surface of teeth. She says that you should rinse the toothbrush with Listerine after brushing, and store it away from the bathroom toilet, since bacteria travel in the air when the toilet is flushed. I’m a bit skeptical about this advice, especially when you consider that the next step of the program involves rinsing the mouth with Listerine, which destroys oral bacteria on contact. When I pointed this out to Phillips, she didn’t have a response. When you brush, ensure that you reach all tooth surfaces, including the back of the teeth. Don’t press too hard with the brush. This was a mistake I made for years, and led to gum recession for me. These days, I prefer to use an electrical tooth brush, which makes my mouth feel much cleaner than using a manual brush, and also is about twice as effective at reducing dental plaque.
Step three involves rinsing your mouth with Listerine, the popular mouthwash. Once again, stick with basic Listerine, not the plaque-removing formula or the whitening version. Make sure it has an “ADA seal of approval” on the bottle. It’s also important that you not rinse your mouth with water between these steps. The Crest toothpaste forms a film on your teeth that protects them from the harsh effects of Listerine. So no rinsing between any of these steps. Phillips says to stick with genuine Listerine, but I use some cheaper house brands that contain the precise same active ingredients as Listerine, but cost half the price or less. Just ensure that these cheaper brands have the ADA seal of approval on the bottle, and it will work fine. You swish the Listerine or a cheaper substitute around in your mouth for about one minute. Phillips called this “liquid flossing” since it loosens food debris between the teeth. She is not keen on flossing, which goes against the advice of just about every dentist that I’ve ever spoken with. But Phillips feels that flossing is too hard on the gums, and can result in gum recession. Despite her admonition against flossing, I still floss right after rinsing with the cloSYS, just prior to brushing with Crest.
The last step is to rinse with a produce called ACT mouthwash.This is a fluoride mouthwash that Phillips says helps to push minerals into the teeth, which makes them stronger and look better. Again, stick with basic ACT, not the versions that contain whiteners or the ACT Restore version. You’ll know you have the correct version if it says “anti-cavity” on the bottle. It comes in mint or cinnamon flavors. Again, there are cheaper versions sold as house brands that average half the price of genuine ACT. Make sure that these cheaper versions have the ADA seal of approval on the bottle, and contain 0.05% sodium fluoride. This is a tiny amount of fluoride, and you aren’t going to swallow it anyway, just swish it in your mouth for about one minute, then spit it out.
It’s best to use this program twice a day, but you should aim to ingest small amounts of the xylitol about 3-5 times a day, or after every meal or acidic drink, including coffee. You want to do the 4- 1/2- minute program right before sleep, since the mouth tends to dry out at night, especially if you sleep with your mouth open. This, by the way, is the cause of the infamous”morning mouth” bad breath. You want to use the system twice a day, because the bad oral bacteria begin to build-up again after about 12 hours.
I’ve been using this system for about 2 years, and my teeth and gums have never been in better shape. Hopefully, I’ve also eliminated any trace of bad breath, too.
This is a sample article from the Applied Metabolics Newsletter at Applied Metabolics.com
Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com
